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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by becksFLA on June 24, 2007, at 14:09:39
The first two days I've been on this, I've really liked it. It helped my mood, didn't impede too much on my anxiety, all the reasons I switched from concerta and other stims. However today is my third day and my mood is the opposite, first two days, very good, third day is pretty depressed so far. Tomorow I'm especially worried about what to expect because it's my first day at work with it instead of my comfortable home surroundings. Not sure what to do...thinking about just taking half a dose and seeing how I feel? Is this common, can I expect a bounce-back? I was really excited about this the first two days.
Thanks
Posted by F00TBALL on June 24, 2007, at 14:38:15
In reply to Afraid to take Provigil tomorow, posted by becksFLA on June 24, 2007, at 14:09:39
I'm sorry if this isn't what you want to here, but I think it was just a coincidence that your mood was improved the first two days, as provigil is not really a mood-enhancer. It's designed to keep you alert and focused and reduce "excessive daytime sleepiness," but it isn't designed to reduce depression.
Posted by becksFLA on June 24, 2007, at 14:56:33
In reply to Re: Afraid to take Provigil tomorow, posted by F00TBALL on June 24, 2007, at 14:38:15
I did read one post previously about it helping somebody's mood over a long period of time...can it be common to have it cause depression though?
Posted by F00TBALL on June 24, 2007, at 15:13:51
In reply to Re: Afraid to take Provigil tomorow, posted by becksFLA on June 24, 2007, at 14:56:33
http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/modafinil_ad.htm
It looks like a very small minority developed increased depression on provigil compared to a placebo.
Posted by Racer on June 24, 2007, at 15:36:37
In reply to Re: Afraid to take Provigil tomorow, posted by becksFLA on June 24, 2007, at 14:56:33
> I did read one post previously about it helping somebody's mood over a long period of time...can it be common to have it cause depression though?
I'm pretty sure that was my post. I was first given Provigil to augment my anti-depressant. Its mood elevating properties for me were apparent both as an augmenting agent and as monotherapy, and lasted about two or two and a half years.
Much as I hate to admit it, I think it only stopped working because I was having trouble trusting my pdoc at the time. I think if I hadn't been so nervous about him, and so anxious in general because of that, it would have continued to be my good and trusted friend. The dark side of the placebo effect, I guess you could say.
It's very hard with any of these drugs to know what is going on when your mood wobbles. There are so many variables involved -- everything from the quality of your sleep, to what's on TV can have an impact on mood. Although your mood is lower today, I'd say you're in a good place to try taking it tomorrow and see what happens.
What's your current dose? And have you had any of the headaches that can come with it? If you're taking the 200mg, then I'd say go ahead and try half a tablet. They're scored, so it's easy enough to split them. I had the best luck taking 100mg in the morning, and another 50mg about noon, and discussed going up to 200mg AM and 100mg at noon, but my erstwhile pdoc said that 200mg was the max. (She was a bit... conservative...)
Good luck with it. I'm trying not to sound as though I get kick-backs from the makers, but I really liked that drug. It's one of the few I would happily try again if it came up. (Although I like methylphenidate just fine, so there's no rush to switch.)
I really hope that it turns out to be helpful for you longer term.
Posted by Honore on June 24, 2007, at 16:40:24
In reply to Re: Afraid to take Provigil tomorow » becksFLA, posted by Racer on June 24, 2007, at 15:36:37
I find that Provigil does improve my mood during its period of effect.
I'm not sure that it has a strong anti-depressant impact, so I wouldn't expect it to change your mood if you're depressed, but if your mood is more open or slightly down, it can bring it up-- at least I've always experienced that.
There's no reason to think that your experience the first two days was just a placebo effect-- although it could have been.
I wouldn't worry about taking it tomorrow-- I seriously doubt it caused your depression to become more severe. More likely there were other causes--
Honore
Posted by Phillipa on June 24, 2007, at 17:10:30
In reply to Re: Afraid to take Provigil tomorow, posted by Honore on June 24, 2007, at 16:40:24
Sometimes I wonder about the placebo effect as I stopped cold turkey lunesta and felt better now I feel horrible again. But I've always heard good reports on providgil even from anxious people. Good luck Love Phillipa
Posted by becksFLA on June 24, 2007, at 20:23:06
In reply to Re: Afraid to take Provigil tomorow, posted by Phillipa on June 24, 2007, at 17:10:30
Thanks for all your comments, my only question remains is Provigil something that I have to take every single day or as needed?
Posted by F00TBALL on June 24, 2007, at 20:39:44
In reply to Re: Afraid to take Provigil tomorow, posted by becksFLA on June 24, 2007, at 20:23:06
> Thanks for all your comments, my only question remains is Provigil something that I have to take every single day or as needed?
Either. I take 200 mg every morning, but I know many people who just take it on an as-needed basis. It's not something that builds up in your brain, say like Nardil, so you get the same effect and benefit from it whether you take it every day or once a month.
Posted by KayeBaby on June 26, 2007, at 0:57:49
In reply to Re: Afraid to take Provigil tomorow, posted by becksFLA on June 24, 2007, at 20:23:06
becks...a question.
Could you describe the quality of your mood. Was it sad depressed or more of a flat, zombie type feeling?Reason I ask is that on provigil at first (first few times)I got a good mood lift from it. happy, peaceful. Then it turned to almost a stoned feeling. Flat, apathetic, listless. I had a similar experience with Ritalin and Wellbutrin. The higher the dosage the worse it would be although all of these drugs at first gave me the same happy but calm, alert and peaceful feeling.
Your experience sounded familiar so I thought I would chime in. For me, I needed a MUCH smaller dose of these meds on and irregular basis to get any benefits from them.
Kaye
Posted by AdamCanada on June 28, 2007, at 17:34:22
In reply to Re: Afraid to take Provigil tomorow, posted by becksFLA on June 24, 2007, at 14:56:33
It made me very wakeful and energetic maybe possibly even more social... but after some days... I began to feel horrendous.
It does increase DEPRESSION in many people the longer you take it.
This is the end of the thread.
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